Driving away traffic problems

DEBBIE JACOB

TODAY, as we enjoy this Eid holiday and a day away from our busy highways, I wish we would all consider ways to find creative solutions for our traffic problems.

Last week, a 30-minute trip from the airport to Port of Spain took me one and a half hours in 7 am traffic. I survived because I had an audio book, but I kept thinking, how can people go through this every day, and why can’t we put our extraordinary creativity to use for something other than Carnival? Mind you, we haven’t yet figured out how to control traffic congestion for masqueraders on the road either.

Clearly, constructing more roads or traffic lanes on our highways has done little or nothing to alleviate traffic congestion. If anything, the extra lanes make the situation worse by causing bottlenecks when lanes must eventually merge. But there’s so much we could be doing.

We need smart traffic lights that self-adjust according to the flow of traffic and electronic signs that warn where bottlenecks are located. All road repairs should be done in the night.

I wonder why the Government doesn’t offer incentives to cut down traffic. What about having a carpool lane? If you have three adults or more in a car, you get to use a less designated lane. Watch carpoolers zipping down a fast lane for a few weeks and see if the wheels in your mind don’t try to figure out how to pack more people in your car on daily commutes to work.

What if we made people pay for the privilege of parking in Port of Spain or offered people tax deductions for taking public transportation like the ferry from San Fernando to Port of Spain?

Companies could get tax incentives for offering staggered working hours or four-day work weeks. Four-day school weeks could work well and allow time for community service projects or a better solution might be to have longer work and school days.

A few year ago, when I worked as a librarian, the director of our school asked me to research the best solutions for a school day. It turns out that one of the most popular choices in schools abroad was a longer day.

Just think of the advantages of a school day that begins at 6.30 am and ends at 5 pm. Teachers could have staggered working hours. Parents and students could pick the optimal hours for attending schools. Teenagers are notorious for staying up late. They don’t function well in the morning so their day could start at 9 am. Students who need to wait for parents to pick them up at 5 pm could take classes later in the day.

A longer school day provides for more pastoral care. It frees up a block of time to deal with classes that address teenagers’ issues. What about a class on improving sleep, and classes on anger management, relationship skills, study or research skills for those SBAs? PE classes in the afternoon might be a good way to destress before homework in the evening.

A longer school day would encourage schools to invent more creative classes that deal with students’ academic, psychological and social issues. It would open up a window of opportunity for guest speakers who have to work during the day.

Of course this should not mean longer working hours for teachers. It would just provide a more flexible work schedule and the opportunity to explore their creativity.

A longer school day could free up students so they could attend school four days a week. The point is that we have to start to think outside of the box. School days and work days are confined to an anachronistic tradition that contributes to traffic congestion.

What if government offices opened seven days a week? Muslims who want to take Fridays off could work on Sundays. Having Saturdays available for government services could boost productivity. People wouldn’t have to take off work other days of the week to get passports or ID Cards.

Even a small number of people volunteering to work on Saturdays or Sundays could reduce traffic, and we may be able to boost the number of volunteers with some incentives like an extra half day off in the week.

Traffic is tiring, costly and environmentally unfriendly. It robs us of leisure time and impacts productivity. It takes a physical and emotional toll; makes us frustrated and depressed. It benefits no one, and I argue it is totally unnecessary.